Poland raises maximum notary fees — RMF24

Higher maximum rates for notarial fees came into force in Poland on Thursday. The largest increase concerns drawing up an ordinary will: the maximum fee for this service rose from 50 to 200 zlotys. RMF24 reports on the changes.

New rates for wills and powers of attorney

The maximum fee for a will containing a legacy, instruction or disinheritance will be 300 zlotys, compared with the previous 150 zlotys. For a will containing a vindicatory legacy, a notary will be able to charge up to 400 zlotys instead of 200. The maximum fee for revoking a will has been raised from 30 to 50 zlotys.

For a power of attorney concerning one act, the maximum rate has increased from 30 to 100 zlotys. If a power of attorney covers more than one act, the limit has been raised from 100 to 200 zlotys. Notarial certification of the authenticity of a signature on a power of attorney or another document may cost up to 60 zlotys instead of 20.

Inheritance and real estate formalities

The maximum fee for a certificate of inheritance has increased from 50 to 200 zlotys. For a European Certificate of Succession, a notary will be able to charge up to 600 zlotys, while the previous limit was 400 zlotys.

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A separate maximum fee of 300 zlotys has been set for preparing an application to enter a record in the land and mortgage register. Previously, this service fell under the general category of unlisted notarial acts, with a maximum fee of 200 zlotys. The limit for other acts not listed in the rules has doubled to 400 zlotys.

Fees for high-value transactions

The rules also introduce a new fee threshold for notarial acts whose subject is valued at more than 5 million zlotys. In such cases, the maximum fee is 14,270 zlotys plus 0.15% of the amount exceeding 5 million zlotys. For values above 2 million zlotys, the rate of 6,770 zlotys plus 0.25% of the amount above that threshold remains in place.

The new amounts are only the upper limit of remuneration, so a notary may agree on a lower fee with a client. Poland's Ministry of Justice explained the revision of the fees by rising costs of running notarial offices, including labour and premises maintenance costs, as well as the complexity and duration of certain procedures.